New schools chief Dorn: State should consider raising taxes: About 40 percent of the states general fund goes to education. In each two-year budget cycle, about $15 billion goes toward the education of Washingtons 1 million children in kindergarten through 12th grade. Washington ranks 42nd in the nation in the amount of money per child the state spends in the classroom, according to federal statistics. And Randy Dorn says state lawmakers are about to get a wakeup call about what it means to do their work during an economic downturn.

Group says estate tax affects few, should be kept: Fewer than 1 percent of deaths result in estate tax liabilities, and President-elect Barack Obama’s proposal to keep the tax alive after it is slated to expire in 2010 is too generous to the wealthy, a tax policy advocacy group said Wednesday.

Some Federal Workers Lose Bargaining Rights: President Bush issued an executive order on Monday that denies collective bargaining rights to about 8,600 federal employees who work in law enforcement, intelligence and other agencies responsible for national security.